Singing with Crows explores the intersections of religion with politics and with our common life.

Saturday, January 16, 2016

A World of Lies

The Ninth Commandment, or the Eighth,
depending on which numbering system is used, states, “You shall not bear false
witness against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16, NRSV) Though in a narrow reading
this refers to testimony in a court of law, it is generally understood to forbid
telling a deliberate untruth in most circumstances.

Humanity has wrestled with the
necessity for truth-telling and the propensity to lie for as long as written
records exist.The philosopher Diogenes of Sinope, who flourished in the fourth century BCE, is said to have walked the
streets of Corinth with a lighted lamp, searching for an honest man.In our own time theologian and professor
Joseph Fletcher stirred widespread debate with the publication in 1966 of his
book “Situation Ethics,” in which he argued that adhering to absolute rules
such as “never lie” could produce cruel and unethical results.

It is common in our adversarial
political system for each side to accuse leaders of the other of lying.Some of those accusations are accurate; some
are not. And some political lies have
far more impact on our nation’s well-being than do others.In recent decades the publication of a
cluster of books, articles, and videos which distort and falsify the historical
record regarding the founding of the United States has significantly influenced
public policy and understanding.Many
citizens who are concerned with preservation of our constitutional rights find
this trend deeply troubling.

Probably the best known purveyor of
this pseudo-history is a man named David Barton.A prolific author and frequent guest on conservative
talk shows, Barton’s project is to depict our national founders as deeply
religious, orthodox Christians whose intent was to establish a country governed
on strict Christian principles.To support
his efforts he has collected thousands of eighteenth and early nineteenth
century documents from which he quotes liberally, though usually deceptively.For example, in lectures he cites part of an
1809 letter from John Adams to Benjamin Rush, making it appear that Adams
believed that government to be legitimate must be “administered by this Holy
Ghost.”What Barton fails to quote are
the sentences immediately following, which make it clear that Adams is mocking
the idea that Barton claims he supported.

In April 2012 Thomas Nelson, a
respected publisher specializing in Christian literature, and now a subsidiary
of HarperCollins, released Barton’s “The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths
You’ve Always Believed about Thomas Jefferson.”Four months later, amid widespread criticism from historians and
following an internal evaluation that revealed numerous significant errors, the
publisher cancelled sale of the book.It
had been voted “the least credible history book in print” by readers of the
History News Network.Barton has since
been self-marketing the work in what he claims to be a corrected and expanded
edition, but which appears to be the same text as the first, merely with a
lengthy additional introduction.

Why does this matter?For one reason, it matters because Barton has
served as a curriculum and text book advisor for the state of Texas, which
because of its practice of ordering textbooks on a statewide basis has the
capacity to influence the content of textbooks available nationwide.His writing also appears widely in homeschool
curricula and texts.A generation of
students that have been taught a deliberately distorted history of America will
not be equipped to make well-informed decisions when they become adults engaged
in the political process.

For another reason, given our current
national climate of increasing polarization and antagonism toward “the other,”
any attempt to change the understanding of our founding vision from that of an
expansive Enlightenment project to one of narrow sectarianism only serves to
further divide our citizenry.Bearing
false witness to our historic documents – that is, deliberately lying about
what they say and mean – undermines the common good.

Fortunately, solid material is
available to refute Barton and his cohort of pseudo-historians.Researcher Chris Rodda has just published the
second volume in her series “Liars for Jesus.”(Full disclosure: I proofread a substantial portion of the manuscript
and am mentioned in the dedication.)In
each chapter of both Volume One and this latest book, Rodda examines in detail
a claim by these “Christian nationalists,” analyzes the sources, and
demonstrates how deceptive editing of quotes, omission of historic context, and
deliberate misstatements of fact lead to the fabrication of a false
history.Her meticulous research
combined with a breezy, informal writing style makes this latest offering a
delight to read.I highly recommend it
to anyone who is concerned with historical accuracy and with correcting the
misleading statements of those who bear false witness. It can be ordered from Amazon here: Liars for Jesus, Vol. 2

1 comment:

We have the same stuff going on in Canada, Marian. Just now the students from a particular religous group is having an "awareness" day inviting the general public to come and hear 3 speakers that have been identified as 2 extremeists and a homophobe. I hate it that young minds at the university think that these speakers are acceptable because of the freedom of speech guarantee in our country. That youth become radicalized is a fact. How sad that this is happening at such a crucial time in our mixed up world. Hugs!!

About Me

My interest in religions of the world was awakened by early reading of Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology; nurtured by classes in literature, comparative religion, and cultural anthropology at Susquehanna University; and expanded and refined during the decade that I spent earning an MAR at Lancaster Theological Seminary. While standing firmly in the progressive Protestantism of the present-day Moravian Church, I welcome opportunities for ecumenical and interfaith interaction.
My commitment to peacemaking and justice advocacy has guided my entire adulthood. My love of music and participation in music-making are life-long passions.
Most of the articles posted here were published originally in my regular column "Musings" for our local newspaper.